Dear Doctor,
You have been so reassuring in the past I hope you can help me again. I am a 51 year old male, do smoke, on my feet quite abit during the day (50%, perhaps), seldom sit with my feet flat on the floor, usually are flexed in some way, usually with only toes touching the floor when sitting (usually with the right foot resting on the back of the left ankle), just started taking Wellbutrin 100mg per day two days ago.
Today I noticed that on the inner side of my left foot, an inch below the ankle joint and just above the sole of the foot (but on the side of the foot, not on the sole) there were four soft bumps within in an area of one square inch that were observable when I flexed my ankle sideways so the skin was taut. When foot is in normal position, or flexed so the area is not taut they are not seen. Even when taut they are not hard and you cannot feel a bump, swollen area, nothing under the skin. When flexed they appear and if you run a finger very lightly over them you can see and feel them, but even flexed, running a finger over them with average pressure you cannot feel them. In other words, they are not hard swollen bumps like cysts or tumors. They are about the size and shape of a pea cut in half. Do not have a head like a pimple. The skin over them is normal color, neither reddened nor paler than surrounding skin. There is no pain or unusual sensitivity at all. Foot and legs feel normal.
There may or may not be a couple of similar bumps on the other right inner ankle. If they are there they are much less observable and cannot be felt.
I do have several spider veins in the area that have increased over the years, but they have never bothered me at all, and these bumps do not appear to be blood filled in any way.
Does this sound like something serious, or is it just aging and perhaps fluid build up. I had never noticed them before, but how often does one get that close to ones ankle. I suppose they could have been there for years and I have just not noticed them.
Is there anything you can suggest that I should try to do to get rid of them or should I just ignore them? Perhaps none of this makes sense.
Again, thank you so much for your patience and reassurance you give so many of your friends here.
John